"They are, yes ma'am," he said, unable to stop that from coming out. He made a face and shook his head. "Sorry. They are, yes."

That wasn't even lie. His parents were still in England. Just...not precisely where he said they were. "They're quite entrenched over there and we don't have a lot of money so an international trip is a bit out of the question. I write home a lot."

[No worries! It was late and I figured you'd fallen asleep!]